Word: carsey
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...Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner aren't the kind of people who say, "I told you so." But if anyone in TV has a right to say it, they do. The former ABC programming executives, who teamed up to form their own production company in 1981, brought one of their early projects, a family sitcom starring a well-worn comedian, to their old network--only to have it rejected. NBC later put The Cosby Show on the air, and it became the most popular series of the 1980s. The producers' next breakthrough hit, Roseanne, landed on ABC only after...
Within the industry, however, their talents are hardly a mystery. Last spring Disney-ABC chief Michael Eisner tried to convince Carsey and Werner to take over the network's struggling entertainment division. They were tempted but said no, partly because it would have meant giving up their company and abandoning their new shows in the midst of development. The company, worth an estimated $1 billion, is growing fast, with a newly created distribution arm (two years ago, Carsey-Werner reacquired the domestic syndication rights for their biggest shows) and a fledgling movie division. Still, they don't rule...
...Carsey and Werner, arguably the most powerful producers in television, are enjoying the last laugh: the networks seem almost afraid to say no to them. Carsey-Werner, their company, produced three pilots last spring, and amazingly--in a business where a .300 batting average makes you a candidate for MVP--all three were picked up for the fall schedule: Cosby by CBS, Men Behaving Badly by NBC and Townies...
That gives Carsey-Werner a total of seven shows on the air this fall (Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Cybill and 3rd Rock are its incumbents), more than any other independent production company--though there aren't many independent companies left for comparison. As media mergers proliferate and most small producers have sought shelter under the umbrella of a studio, Carsey and Werner are determined to keep going it alone. In doing so, they have proved that a couple of smart programmers with good instincts and enough confidence to fight for what they believe in can still be a power...
...Carsey, 51, and Werner, 46, are the most unassuming moguls in Hollywood. They share an office on the second floor of their unpretentious bungalow on the former MTM lot in Studio City and rarely go out for fancy lunches, preferring to grab a plate in the commissary line downstairs. Intensely private, both have families (Carsey is married to a former comedy writer and has two children; Werner and his businesswoman wife have three) that they keep out of the limelight. Carsey drives a modest Mustang convertible; Werner tools around in a Toyota Landcruiser. Carsey doesn't even have an answering...